Favorite fast food East of he Rockies this winter: Brrritos.
We’ve had slushies, snow cones, ice cream, and frozen yogurt. (After the brrrritos, of course. wouldn’t want to eat dessert first)
Life is short. East dessert first.
~author unknown
Near record warm forecast for Southern California. North in Central California, 6-8 inches of rain are forecast; a nice contribution to overcome effects of the drought.
Hopefully, SoCal won’t experience Shake 'N Bake.
Is there any way to ship the snow from New England to California’s mountains. It isn’t rainfall that will overcome the drought. It’s snow pack, which this year, right now, only has about 30 percent of normal water content. If MA needs a place to put snow the Sierra Nevada mountains have plenty of space. Aferall, ice was shipped from Louisiana to New England when no place could be found to use it after Hurrican Katrina. Surely, FEMA can come up with a solution.
Weather forecast today (2/11/15) for Lost Angeles is high in the mid-80s with increasing Santa Ana winds. Jay Leno once said the four seasons in LA are wildfire, flood, riot and earthquake. Orange County is at the forefront in recycling water and desalinization. In Irvine, big bucks were invested 15 years ago in recycled water system. Landscaping has remained lush during he drought. Residential real estate is appreciating at 9%/yr.
No wonder the price of produce keeps going up on this side of the divide.
The house we bought in 1971 for $20,100 in Woodland Hills is now beyond our reach. Last I checked (about 15 years ago) it was 0.5 mil. Even though the then owners had expanded it (there was room on the lot), that’s ridiculous.
As to the weather: LA is desert and there’s a reason the Native Americans (First Nation) people didn’t live there year round. Get out while you still can.
Jay Leno is right: all that happened during the first year I lived there. Not sure why I stayed for 10 years.
Anyone have an escape route or do I need a golden parachute from the Golden Sate?
That $450 mill from the Power Ball Lottery looks pretty good…
Just sell your California home, and move to somewhere like Waco, tx, where you can buy a nice place for a fraction of the price, and invest the rest, and live off the compounding interest.
Or pretty much anywhere in the Midwest, for that matter.
Flad’s still looking for another spec writer.
Even with our yo-yo winter weather, Virginia is a wonderful place. minimum earthquakes, (so says Ed Cayce) and the occasional hurricane. Mouth of the Chesapeake looks good to me. 
Curt, there used to be a restaurant in La Belle, FL called Flora & Ella’s that had been open since 1911, their motto that they had emblazed on their shirts, cookbooks, and aprons was “Life is uncertain, Eat dessert first”…they had some amazing homemade cakes and pies…unfortunately their property was too valuable and the building was sold for re-development. I have fond memories of driving across Florida on State Road 80 and stopping in for a meal, which I usually had to doggie bag, cause their desserts were so big, who could eat the entrees, but their entrees were always amazing, the best meatloaf, fried chicken, lasagna, chicken and dumplings, you name it they had it, it was worth driving 2 hours, I was fortunate to be able to drive on business though, on my way to the west coast. BTW, it was mandatory to eat dessert first here.
correction, I just looked at the apron, the restaurant was established in 1933, my mistake.
I also found a post from 2006, a review of Flora & Ella’s:
Pros: Excellent food, Great service, you really feel like you’re wanted
Cons: None at all. Oh! they are closed on Sunday.
The Bottom Line: You can eat fancier or pricier, but you’re not likely to eat better.
In 1933, two sisters, Flora & Ella opened a simple restaurant in LaBelle. It was a place where families would congregate and eat. It still is. Nothing fancy here (well maybe the pies), just wholesome down home southern cooking in its purest form. And although at heart I identify myself as a Connecticut Yankee, I freely admit to feeling oh so at home with deep south country cooking. Comfort food of the highest order.
Free of pretense, its the kind of cooking that reaches out and touches your soul. Thats what awaits you at Flora & Ellas. Although Flora and Ella have passed, third and fourth generation family members see to it that their legacy is fulfilled.
Located right off Route 80 just a couple of hundred yards from Skeet & Sara’s Log Cabin Barbecue it is immediately inviting. Entering through the front door you find yourself in the general store. Looking straight ahead it appears to be a small town diner right out of the 1940s or 50s. To the left theres a dining room just a little more formal but not in the least forbidding.
You can almost hear the restaurant whisper, Come on in and sit a spell. Corny, huh? But ask yourself, when was the last time you felt so welcomed?
The Menu
The menu at Flora & Ellas is simplicity itself. And although there are separate lunch and dinner sections, you can generally order anything on the menu anytime. Just smile and say please. Again, nothing fancy here, just generous portions of really good food. Let me tell you about some of my favorites.
Appetizers
Fried Green Tomatoes with dipping sauce - $5.95 Remember the movie? Well these are them! And, they are very, very good. If youve never, you owe it to yourself. Enjoy.
Sweet Potato Fries - $1.95 Done until the outsides crisp and the insides go tender these are a treat. Just dont fill up on them.
Crab Cakes - $5.95 A Flora & Ella specialty, a friend of mine from Maryland couldnt believe how good these were.
Lunch & Dinner
Hoppin John - $6.95
Oh Lord. This is so good! Black eyed peas, rice, seasoned ground beef topped with tomatoes and onion. Comes with corn bread. This is a big meal. An icon of southern comfort cooking.
Chicken and Dumplings $7.95
A huge portion of boneless chicken stirred into plump made from scratch dumplings. Your choice of two sides. Comes with biscuits.
Country Boy Pot Roast - $8.95
A chuck roast slowly cooked in its natural juices until it is fork tender. Comes with mashed potatoes gravy and your choice of sides. I love this dish.
Farm Raised Catfish Filets - $7.95
A plate of them fried up and served with French Fries or grits, coleslaw and Hushpuppies. For those of you who have never had catfish, they are sweet and delicate.
Crab Cakes - $7.95
Yup, you can order them as an entre. Served with three sides and corn bread or biscuits.
Of course you can order other things. Burgers, Fried Chicken, Chops, Country Fried Steaks, Fried Shrimp. Its all good and it is so reasonably priced
The Pies
Still got room for dessert? Well Flora & Ellas pies are known throughout the area as the finest. My favorites are Blueberry or Peach for $2.50 a slice. A whole pie for $12.00. If youre just passing through and want to pick up one of these truly incredible pies to take home, be sure to call at least a day in advance. For Peach, as Ive finally learned its best to reserve your pie three days in advance. Im telling you. These pies are worth the effort! Call them at 863-675-2891.
Summing Up
Theres no question that you can eat fancier and certainly you can eat more expensively. But nowhere will you find one place where the combination of great food, friendly service, conviviality and just a sense of being home is quite like it is here at Flora & Ellas.
Sometimes progress sucks, the Developer who bought the property never developed it, Flora & Ellas never reopened, only memories remain, and now I need to find some home cooked food, not much luck in that.
What state now has the most earthquakes? Oklahoma.
Buy property on the East side of the Colorado River so you’ll have beachfront property when California slips into the Pacific ocean. Or vice versa when Arizona et. al slips into the Atlantic.
Jerome - sounds like my kind of place. We are fortunate to have a diner/pie place just blocks from our house. the Cons there are that there is usually a line out the door waiting for a table.
Curt, the best places with the real food always have lines, you have to eat earlier or later and avoid prime time…now I have a reason to visit your domain, not during winter though…stay warm.
Wow, Jerome, you have me drooling like an old hound dog. There is not one thing on the menu I do not crave. I am a son-of-the-south (I’ll bet you thought I was going to write something else. and, to me, food like that is not a meal; it’s a sacrament.
I travel to Florida regularly but seldom go south of Orlando. It appears that next time I must extend my itinerary.
Oklahoma earthquakes seem to be a result of the shale fracking going on. Hmmm. Do you think we are having an adverse effect on the planet?